URAC solicits public comment on accountable care accreditation program

WASHINGTON — Healthcare accrediting organization URAC is calling for public comment on a new set of standards it has issued for accountable care, the group said.

URAC announced the release of its accountable care accreditation standards and measures, saying public comments were due no later than May 17. The standards were designed by a committee of industry experts for organizations prepared to assume greater risk and manage their patient populations, which requires organizations to be more robust in terms of technology and programming.

The group is also proposing to include measures with the accreditation that align with Medicare’s Shared Savings Program, and organizations that achieve accreditation are better prepared to assume the role of ACOs.

Accountable care accreditation is one of two components of URAC’s roadmap, the other of which is building a clinically integrated network. The accreditation for clinical integration is scheduled for release later this year.

The factors that helped fuel the nearly $62 million profit the company reported in third quarter 2013 have continued to hold, which means the 4,623-store chain has put itself on track for strong future growth, which will no doubt be helped along by the debt refinancing the company finished in February.

Wall Street certainly thinks so: Rite Aid’s stock, which in recent years had frequently hovered around $1 per share and sank to 22 cents per share on March 6, 2009, opened at $1.98 Thursday and reached a high of $2.33 Friday.

But there’s something deeper going on than just generic drugs or competitors having problems: Rite Aid’s foundations are getting stronger too. This is evident from the company’s investments in its business, such as the latest update to the Wellness store format, which will be used as the template for "virtually all" of the 400 remodels scheduled for fiscal year 2014, and the expansion of the NowClinic "virtual clinic" service to 58 stores.

Key to Rite Aid’s success has been the Wellness+ loyalty card program. During the Walgreens-ESI dispute, the chain worked hard to sign Walgreens customers who moved their prescriptions to Rite Aid up for the program, which today boasts nearly 25.2 million active members.

In addition, the company has seen good returns on its investment in the Wellness stores, whose front-end same-store sales are 3% higher than those in the non-Wellness stores; the company had already observed the stores’ comps trending higher than those of the older stores early on in the program, as well as seeing stronger performance in those Wellness stores already staffed with Wellness Ambassadors.

With Rite Aid’s executives telling Wall Street analysts Thursday that they expected to retain most of the customers gained from the Walgreens-ESI dispute, it’s clear that the company is building itself some serious customer loyalty, something that has been crucial to its triumphs and will continue to be in the future.

Signs still point to growth for retail health clinics

A new Kalorama Information report found that most patients — 91% — who had used a retail clinic were either satisfied or very satisfied with their visit.

The findings are in line with prior studies, which have long been reported by Drug Store News, and are yet further evidence that retail clinics are playing a vital role in the U.S. healthcare system.

It also is important to note that, according to the study, patients are not turning to retail-based health clinics simply to save money. Yes, the clinics are cost-effective, but it is accessibility, convenience and high-quality care that is truly winning over patients.

The news comes just one week after retail clinic operator Take Care Clinics, which is owned by Walgreens, announced that it is expanding the scope of services within its 300-plus clinics to include management for such chronic conditions as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol and asthma, as well as additional preventive health services.

Expect this increasing shift to chronic care services to mean an even quicker ramp up in retail clinics throughout the country.

Meanwhile, South Carolina state Department of Health and Human Services director Tony Keck recently toured a MinuteClinic location at a CVS store in downtown Columbia, S.C. The visit was especially important given that Keck helped initiate a plan to include MinuteClinic as a provider of care in order to increase access for Medicaid recipients and to make South Carolina a model in retail health; MinuteClinic accepts all South Carolina Medicaid plans.

The bottom line is that all signs continue to point to growth for retail-based health clinics. One can bet that there’s more to come.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Peggy Noonan, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and singer Diana Ross now feature on the schedule for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Annual Meeting, slated for April 21-24 in Palm Beach, Fla.

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